Fourth European case of rabies in 2019 reported
DEC 18, 2019
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As of 9th December, there have so far been four deaths from rabies reported in 2019 among travellers from the EU/EEA:
1. A 24-year old, Norwegian woman, bitten by a puppy in Philippines
2. A Latvian gentleman, bitten somewhere in Asia
3. A Spanish woman, bitten by a cat in Morocco
4. An Italian, bitten by a dog on Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
Worldwide, the risk of a potential rabid dog bite is the second most common, vaccine-preventable disease risk in travellers.
Rabies has the highest case fatality rate of any known infectious disease (there has only ever been one documented, human survivor).
No-one who has had a pre-exposure course of Rabies vaccination plus a booster in the event of a bite has ever gone on to develop rabies. This is the most effective preventive record of any vaccine (100%).
By contrast, at least 15 rabies deaths are known to have occurred among previously unvaccinated people, despite treatment with post-exposure vaccination.
